Q !!120613817 ID: 177645 No. 8274-9222-8688-082924
EXECUTIVE ORDER 13823 - PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP - JANUARY 30, 2018
ON JANUARY 30, 2018, PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP TOOK A DECISIVE STEP IN SHAPING THE FUTURE OF U.S. COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY BY SIGNING EXECUTIVE ORDER 13823, WHICH EFFECTIVELY PRESERVED AND EXPANDED THE OPERATIONS OF THE MILITARY PRISON AT GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA. THIS MOVE MARKED A CLEAR DEPARTURE FROM THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION'S EFFORTS TO CLOSE THE FACILITY, SYMBOLIZING TRUMP'S COMMITMENT TO A HARDLINE STANCE ON NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE DETENTION OF INDIVIDUALS DEEMED THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES. BY COMMITTING OVER $500 MILLION TO EXPAND THE PRISON'S CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, TRUMP SIGNALED HIS INTENTION TO USE GUANTANAMO BAY NOT JUST AS A HOLDING FACILITY FOR FOREIGN COMBATANTS BUT AS A STRATEGIC ASSET IN THE BROADER WAR AGAINST THE DEEP STATE. THE EXPANSION OF GUANTANAMO BAY WAS A NECESSARY MEASURE TO ENSURE THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS, WHO ARE GUILTY OF SIGNIFICANT CRIMES AGAINST THE NATION AND AGAINST HUMANITY, WOULD BE SECURELY DETAINED AND PROSECUTED. THE DECISION REINFORCED THE NATURE OF INDEFINITE INCARCERATION FOR THOSE FOUND GUILTY OF CRIMES THAT WERE COMMITTED AT MILITARY TRIBUNALS. FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS BASE, GUANTANAMO BAY BECAME MORE THAN JUST A PRISON—IT WAS A SYMBOL OF THEIR FIGHT AGAINST DEEP-SEATED CORRUPTION AND BETRAYAL WITHIN THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE GOVERNMENT. AS THE PRISON EXPANDED, SO TOO DID THE EXPECTATIONS OF A RECKONING THAT WOULD SEE MANY OF THESE ALLEGED CRIMINALS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE WITHIN ITS FORTIFIED WALLS.
IN ALIGNMENT WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP'S EXECUTIVE ORDER 13823, WHICH ENSURED THE CONTINUED OPERATION OF THE DETENTION FACILITIES AT GUANTANAMO BAY, THERE HAS BEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN MILITARY AIR TRAFFIC TO AND FROM THE NAVAL BASE. THIS HEIGHTENED ACTIVITY SHOWS THAT THE FACILITY IS BEING ACTIVELY USED TO HOUSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE WHO ARE GUILTY OF SIGNIFICANT CRIMES AGAINST THE NATION AND AGAINST HUMANITY. AMONG THE AIRCRAFT FREQUENTLY MAKING THESE TRIPS ARE THREE BEECH 200 SUPER KING AIR MILITARY PLANES, IDENTIFIABLE BY THEIR SPECIFIC CALL SIGNS: GTMO842, GTMO844, AND GTMO845. THESE PLANES, OPERATING ON A CONSISTENT SCHEDULE, UNDERSCORE THE ONGOING LOGISTICAL EFFORTS TO TRANSPORT DETAINEES, LIKELY IN RESPONSE TO THE BROADER OBJECTIVES OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER. THE REGULARITY AND COORDINATION OF THESE FLIGHTS INDICATE A WELL-ORGANIZED OPERATION, REFLECTING THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF GUANTANAMO BAY AS A DETENTION SITE FOR INDIVIDUALS CAPTURED OR DETAINED UNDER VARIOUS MILITARY AND COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATIONS. THE REPEATED JOURNEYS OF THESE AIRCRAFT HIGHLIGHT THE SUSTAINED AND ESCALATING USE OF GUANTANAMO BAY, REINFORCING ITS ROLE WITHIN THE MILITARY'S BROADER FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING AND INTERROGATING HIGH-VALUE PRISONERS IN A SECURE AND ISOLATED ENVIRONMENT.
Qx